In The Wake of Katrina, Wake Up!

Though intended and currently appropriate, the following was prompted by a request from someone that cannot be refused in Chuckonia. This is for all our friends in Cajun Country...
"This is our tsunami." I heard that on TV a few nights ago, and it's the most apt description I have found of what's going on along the Gulf coast right now. Not only in terms of devastation but also as far as national attention and concern. When I say "national" attention, however, I mean people, not necessarily the government. Before I get into that however, I'd like to give my recent personal perspective and limited experience with Katrina's victims.
The University of Memphis, at which I am a student and resident advisor, has generously invited any students of universities affected by the hurricane to enroll with us for no extra tuition. We are also providing them with accommodations in our residence halls. In addition, a dorm that had been shut down for two years has been refurnished and put online for over 200 non-student evacuees to have lodging as they escape the ruined cities further south. Yesterday, in my capacity as a resident advisor, I met three of the students from the University of New Orleans who will be living in the apartment complex in which I work. When the third one arrived to check in to her room, I gave her the information sheet that all new residents fill out and proceeded to spout off the usual check-in instructions. A couple of minutes later, I noticed that she had put the sheet down on the table without filling out much of it. Primarily, the section for an off-campus address and family contact info was blank. I couldn't bring myself to question it or even mention that I noticed it, because I realized that she probably didn't want to note an address that may not exist anymore. It broke my heart, and I fought some tears. Fortunately, the burden lightened when I realized that she had misunderstood and simply didn't think she was supposed to fill out the whole thing. Mistaken or not, it really made me think. And this is what I thought about...
First, when are all the countries that we have supported in time of natural crisis going to return the favor? I haven't heard any Asians or Europeans announce that they're sending anybody. As cold as it may sound, I believe that all US Government entities still working in Southeast Asia on tsunami relief and any completely American-staffed private agencies should pull out immediately to help here at home. At least then, the Asians would have something to do and a valid excuse for not coming here to help us.
Second and most important, when is the United States Government going to speed up its priorities? A good Republican though I try to be, I've never accused George W. Bush of being a good organizer. As large as the federal government is, one would think that it could handle multiple tasks at once. And maybe it just looks like it on TV, but it seems more and more as time goes on that they only work on one thing at a time. As soon as the Mayor of New Orleans made the evacuation order public, the President of the United States should have been ringing his phone. In time of crisis, it's a bad sign to here from the head man at CNN before the head of the Executive Branch. Let's play with some hypotheticals here. With the worries over lack of military personnel to "staff" the new Iraq and base closings here in America for budget reasons, the government was afraid to commit more than it had. Furthermore, the Iraq operation-devotees are probably shaking in their boots at the thought of having to risk the loss of numbers in the Middle East to help the work here IN OUR OWN COUNTRY. Don't get me wrong, I supported the war and still do, but in times like this, it's the post-war occupation that I have a problem with. Groups like the Red Cross are, as always, wonderful right now. But no private organization should be ahead of the most powerful government on Earth when arriving at the site of a disaster. This is not my queue to start ripping the war issue apart and bashing the administration. But, in short, our own people need a lot more help than anyone else in American eyes right now. We've gotta take an old-fashioned "America for the Americans" approach and focus on the ravaged areas of Louisiana, Mississippi, and Alabama.
It's easy for me to sit here in dry, clear-skied Memphis and pass all these judgments, but the bottom line is that we can't spend all our time reading the stories that ask "Is Your City Ready For the Big One?" Instead, we need to pay more attention to the ones that say "This Is What You Can Do To Help Now." No shoulda-coulda-wouldas will help us. So, to all our readers (listen to me acting like I have a huge fan base), find some way to help. Contribute money, blood, food, supplies, and even shelter if you have friends along the coast. Just do something! And, to all our friends in the storm-ravaged area and its surroundings (especially our dear old friends in Cajun Country), we're praying for you and looking forward to the return to normalcy in the Southeast. As we await that time, you've always got friends in Chuckonia.